Participants from last year’s Walk of Remembrance start their journey on a sunny September afternoon. Source File Photo
The Walking Through Grief Society is taking another step to expand its services with a new Family Changes program to help youth five to 17 cope with divorce and separation.
This new 10-week program will run from Jan. 24 to March 27 at the Alliance Church in Kitscoty to help youth identify, accept and express feelings from the loss of family connections.
“When families get divorced or there’s separation in the family kids have a loss as well. They lose their independence,” said lead facilitator Gayle Barnes.
“They lose their identity because they don’t know which parent to gravitate towards.”
The Family Changes course will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. with preregistration a must, by calling Barnes at 780-808-1645 or program director Shirley Scott at 780-871-1750.
“We do a group setting with the kids and the parents also have a session as a group at the same time as we run the kids’ program,” explained Barnes.
“It’s $20 for the family, but if you get support from an outside group like Big Brothers, Big Sisters, we may waive the fee.”
Youths will learn communication and problem-solving skills while they explore what divorce and separation is all about.
“The goal is to give them tools so they can deal with the separation from parents. Grief is a process you go through when you lose someone,” said Barnes.
“Initially you’re numb and you have a lot of anger and anxiety and fear and you have the physical symptoms like tightness in your stomach and chest and being numb and kind of robotic through the process.”
Walking Through Grief is a non-profit organization funded by Lloydminster Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) and provides grief services for youth and adults in Lloydminster, Kitscoty, Wainwright and Vermilion.
It was founded by Shirley and John Scott in memory of their 16-year-old daughter, Audra, who was killed in a car accident in 1981.
“The family felt that Audra would have liked to have seen something for children because there was nothing when their daughter passed away,” explained Barnes.
The Scotts launched their Hope After Loss: Audra’s Legacy program in 2017 for youth experiencing grief over the death of a loved one.
Another 10-week course for youth six to 16 will run from Jan. 23 to March 26 in Kitscoty along with parental support.
The core grief support group covers death, grief and loss, feelings, fears, guilt and regrets, memories, healing, self-care and support, rituals and special days, and saying goodbye.
Grief is defined as the response to loss that can have many forms.
“No one needs to walk unsupported in their grief. Any loss is a grief like the loss of a parent, the loss of a sibling; it could be the loss of a pet or the loss of a job,” said Barnes.
“We have an adult support group we run in Lloyd as well in addition to Wainwright and Vermilion.”
Barnes says parents are involved since the loss of a grandparent for a child also means the loss of a parent for an adult.
“While the parents are doing their learning the kids are doing theirs in a separate room,” said Barnes.
She says she experienced grief herself when she lost her mom in 2005 and didn’t find the group until 2014.
“I’ve been helping out with the adult group and then I was asked to help with the children’s program,” said Barnes.
As the lead facilitator, she coordinates the ladies who run the program and makes sure everything is there for them.
Barnes works as an education assistant at Holy Rosary High School helping those who need additional support in the classroom.
